Clockwork Panda Drummer (from Toy Series)

In 1971, Andy Warhol said “I’ve been reading so much about China… The only picture they ever have is of Mao Zedong. It’s great. It looks like a silk screen” (A. Warhol, quoted by G. Frei and N. Prinz, The Andy Warhol Catalogue Raissonné: Paintings and Sculptures 1970-1974, New York, 2002, p. 165). Thus began Warhol’s long fascination with China and when, in 1973, his dealer Bruno Bischofberger suggested he depict the most important person in the world, Warhol chose the most famous: Chairman Mao. In 1982 Warhol made his one and only visit to China and later reminisced, “I went to China, I didn’t want to go…[but] it was great. It was really, really, really great” (A. Warhol quoted in I’ll Be Your Mirror: The Selected Andy Warhol Interviews, New York, 2004, p.392). Warhol began the Toy series shortly after his return from Asia when Bischofberger asked him to create a series of paintings on children’s activities. The subject matter was inspired by Warhol’s own extensive toy collection which included cars, robots, dogs, circus clowns, mice, apples, and pandas. Warhol's source material came from the packaging of the toys, rather than the objects themselves, reminiscent of his famous Brillo Box (Soap Pads) and Campbell's Soup Cans. Warhol became particularly engaged with this series and it allowed him to celebrate not only his own childhood but also his natural affinity with children of all ages. “[Warhol] got a lot from young people,” explained his friend Christopher Makos. “He felt more comfortable with children than he did with art collectors and serious fans” (C. Makos, quoted in Jacob Baal Teshuva, Andy Warhol: 1928-1987, Munich, 1993, p. 65).